"Something—I cannot explain it to you. Besides—was I ever a weak woman? Did I ever hesitate much?"
"No, that is true. Perhaps I did not use the right word. You seem more active, more alive, more determined to influence other people."
"Do I? It may be true. I fancy I am less saint-like in your opinion than I was. I am glad of it. You used to think me quite different from what I was. But I know that I have changed during this summer. I feel it now."
"So have I. The change began before you went away." Ghisleri glanced at her, and then looked at the wall.
A short silence followed. Both felt strangely conscious that their former relation had not been renewed exactly where it had been interrupted by their separation in the summer. But there was nothing awkward about the present break in the conversation.
"In what way have you changed?" asked Laura at last. She had evidently been thinking of his words during the pause.
"Indeed I should find it hard to tell you now," Ghisleri answered, with a smile at the thought uppermost in his mind. "I would rather not try."
"Is it for the worse, then?" Laura's eyes sought his.
"No. It is for the better. Perhaps, some day, if all this turns out less badly—" He stopped, angry with himself for having said even that much.
"Shall you have more confidence in me when the trial is over?" asked Laura, leaning back and looking down. "Have I shown that I believe in you, or not, to-day?" Had she known what was so near his lips to say, she might not have spoken.